We hardly need to repeat that many members of Korea's elite have problems with their competence and ethical standards. But recent cases tell us that too many people in this society have reached high places despite lacking the professional and personal qualities required of them.

The elements could have come straight from a Hollywood thriller: secret meetings held in posh hotels around the world, people using code names to avoid detection and the handing over of bags loaded with cash.

Taoyuan City police reported on Feb. 15 that a 54-year-old man with the surname Hsih rode a bus from Nankang District (南港區) to Sanchong District (三重區) carrying a steak knife; he later whistled as he brushed the knife up against the bus' air vent. The behavior caused panic among passengers and the bus driver drove directly to the police station, with the police soon apprehending the mentally disabled perpetrator. The event led many to remember the vicious Taipei MRT attack back in April of 2014.

I'll get straight to it this time. I don't believe in the idea of segregating school-going students with disabilities from mainstream education. I do not think it's a good idea to move all school-going children into special classes because they live with a disability.

The impending execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumuran, two members of the “Bali Nine” drug smuggling ring, have brought on increased anxiety and heightened regional/global tensions, coming on the heels of six executions carried out by Indonesia last month.

The ruling Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung paid his respects at the grave of former President Roh Moo-hyun on Feb. 14, reciprocating the major opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy Chairman Moon Jae-in's visit to the graves of former President Syngman Rhee and former President Park Chung-hee at the National Cemetery on Feb. 9 on his first day as party chairman.